Liberals Relent; Waxman's Markup Back On

The Energy and Commerce Committee health care markup is back on  again  after liberals on the panel reluctantly agreed Wednesday night to support a compromise brokered by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) with four Blue Dog Democrats earlier in the day.After a meeting of the committees Democrats, Waxman announced that the markup would take place Thursday. He had planned to mark up the bill Wednesday but postponed the markup after liberals rebelled against the deal, which reduces subsidies to low-income Americans, prevents a new public insurance plan from being based on Medicare rates, increases exemptions for small businesses and cuts the cost of the overall package by more than $100 billion.Waxman said he would ask leadership and the Blue Dogs to try and restore cuts to subsidies for lower-income people  a key concern of liberal Members  but also said he stands by the agreement that they reached if the Blue Dogs do not agree to changes.Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that he and others on the committee didnt like the Blue Dog deal but that they would support moving forward with it anyway.Were ready to rock and roll, Butterfield said. We dont like it, but the political reality is we need to move something out of committee.Early on in the three-hour meeting between Waxman and the liberals, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said the mood inside the room was tense. Theres angst, theres questions, theres some anger, he said.He said that while he respects his Blue Dog colleagues, he was disappointed that the public plan was not robust. You shouldnt let the tail wag the dog, he said.As Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) left the room, he quipped that Members were having a great time but that the Blue Dogs had received better food.By the end of the meeting, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said Congressional Progressive Caucus members had decided to go on with the markup.We have a lot of work we still want to do, she said. Democrats have many amendments to offer. We are certain that Republicans will also have their opportunities. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said, We are working are getting us all together under the same tent and all going in the same direction.Liberal leaders had earlier suggested they had the votes to block the markup until their concerns were addressed. They arent marking it up right now, are they? said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, after a strategy meeting that also included members of the three ethnic minority caucuses. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the other co-chairman of the progressive bloc, complained that leaders cut liberals out of negotiations on the bill. The consequence is that theres some very committed people to the public option on that committee and they got marginalized and now youre going to have to deal with it, he said.

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March 13, 2015

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., right, hugs Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, after the Congressman spoke at the IAFF's Legislative Conference General Session at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, March 9, 2015. The day featured addresses by members of Congress and Vice President Joe Biden.